Everyday seems like a new adventure in the camper. I discover something daily. Now, not all of the things I discover are monumental or worth documenting, but a few are. Lets see, at times, there is the realization that the camper is really small. When you are trying to get ready for church and all the little people want to play and run, but there is really only a small space to do that, and you can’t send them outside or their Sunday best will be a mess. So in the end, mom looses her mind and yells at everyone because she can’t seem to get ready when little people keep running her over while she tries to curl her hair.
Or maybe the lesson of “if you give a mouse popcorn….” is one I should share….. Have you ever been in a camper? If you have, you will know that the sleeping quarters are close to the kitchen because everything is close! In our case, the stove sits on the wall to our bedroom. From my bed to the stove is literally 2 steps away. A few nights ago I woke up to a strange sound. I couldn’t identify it right away. I sat up and listened and thought one of my kids was out of bed for sure. I used my handy iPhone flashlight to shine into the living room and no one was up. By then the sound was gone so I laid back down. As I settled back into bed I hear the noise again and I suddenly realize that sound is likely a critter. My heart starts racing a little bit because I am scared of critters. I slowly slide out of bed and creep around the corner with my flashlight on. I see that there is a bag of Stirred popcorn (it is covered in sugar) that was upright against the wall when I went to bed, is now laying on its side and moved over. I knew then that there was for sure a critter. I jumped back in bed fast and debated what to do. Where is my brave husband? If you have read this blog before you know where he is- at the fire station! After what felt like an eternity of listening to that MOUSE eat through the bag of popcorn, I finally caved and called Joel.
What was he going to do? I don’t have a clue but I needed another adult to talk me off the ledge. “what are you afraid of?” UMMMM Hello? There is a mouse, a few feet away from me, eating a bag of popcorn. “I know but what do you think is going to happen?” All I am picturing is Ratatouille, you know that cute rat cartoon, and I am picturing that mouse calling all his friends to come eat the popcorn with him. I don’t know what i think might happen but I just want the mouse to go away. My sweet husband suggests I go get the bag of popcorn and throw it out. No way is that happening. I just can’t.
So, apparently camper living comes with friends. Friends I don’t care for. Friends I would like to leave. And if you give a mouse popcorn, he will probably stick around to see what else you have, in case you are wondering.
Look, I live in a camper with 7 people and at least one mouse. Life is a mess most days. Please don’t be offended if I invite myself over or show up unannounced at your house. I know it is rude, but I am just asking for grace in advance. If you feel so inclined, just invite us over before I show up at your doorstep without warning. I am normally all about bringing gifts of homemade bread and desserts as thank you for having us, but since my camper oven over cooks in one 1/2 and undercooks on the other, I don’t know if you will want to eat anything I bring, so I will spare you that.
So here I am, 5 weeks into camper living, thinking to myself, When is this house going to be done?
Today at church, I had the sweetest lady tell me “well you just have it all together!” In case it appears that way, I will first say I absolutely do not! The other day I took this picture of myself (yes, a selfie) and I thought Wow, I actually look pretty good right now! Then about 5 minutes later I found BBQ sauce in my hair. Moral of the story, not everything looks as it appears. Ok friends, don’t forget to high five your mommy friends you see out in public with their kids. It really is work to get there! Happy Monday!
All the things 